Tyson Foods has committed a $1 million fund endowment through the USPOULTRY Foundation to support student recruiting. The endowment is in support of the Ensuring the Future campaign, which was initiated to enhance the sustainability and prosperity of the poultry and egg industry through the U.S. Poultry & Egg Harold E. Ford Foundation. To date, more than $8.3 million has been pledged for the campaign.
“It’s no secret that the next generation will have the responsibility to feed 9 billion people by the year 2050,” said Noel White, president of poultry for Tyson Foods. “This campaign will empower young people to meet that challenge.”
The USPOULTRY Foundation serves all segments of the poultry and egg industry, investing millions of dollars for recruiting students and funding research. The USPOULTRY Foundation provides recruiting grants to colleges and universities to help attract students to their poultry programs or expose students in other majors to basic poultry courses. For 2013, recruiting grants totaling more than $183,000 were approved to six U.S. universities with poultry science departments and 14 other institutions with industry-related programs. The USPOULTRY Foundation College Student Career Program and the International College Student Career Program, held in conjunction with the International Production & Processing Expo, offers students the opportunity to network and interview for industry jobs and internships every year. The USPOULTRY Foundation also supports career development events on behalf of the poultry industry with 4-H and FFA and sponsors a collegiate poultry judging competition.
“The purpose of the Foundation is to attract bright young people to the poultry industry and fund important research,” said campaign co-chairman Elton Maddox, president and CEO of Wayne Farms. “Today, our Foundation is a primary industry funding source for those two critical needs. The Ensuring the Future campaign is a unique opportunity to invest today to ensure the continued success of the poultry and egg industry tomorrow.”
“Tyson is clearly a recognized leader in our industry, and we are so grateful for this leadership gift. The tremendous support from Tyson and other Foundation donors means that we can increase significantly our investment back into youth programs and vital research that help attract students into careers in the poultry and egg industry,” said John Starkey, president, USPOULTRY Foundation.
